1. Policy & Provenance
1933
League of Nations
Convention on the
Repatriation of Objects of
Artistic, Historical or
Scientific Interest, Which
Have Been Lost, Stolen or
Unlawfully Alienated or
1954
UNESCO
Convention for the
Protection of Cultural
Property in the Event of
Armed Conflict (1954
Hague Convention)
1970
UNESCO
Convention on the Means
of Prohibiting and
Preventing the Illicit
Import, Export and
Transfer of Ownership of
Cultural Property
1983
United States
Convention on Cultural
Property Implementation
Act
2008
AAMD
Guidelines on the
Acquisition of
Archaeological Materials
and Ancient Art
1995
UNIDROIT
Convention on Stolen or
Illegally Exported Cultural
Objects
2013
AAMD
Revised Guidelines on the
Acquisition of
Archaeological Materials
and Ancient Art
The illegal excavation of archaeological material and
ancient art
results in losses to the cultural record, a problem worsened by the illicit
trade of undocumented antiquities.
Research consisted of a review
of recent literature and acquisition policies from 8 US
museums
Museums occupy a unique place in the effort to stop
this activity and have begun to address the issue through the
implementation of acquisition policies requiring minimum levels of
provenance for relevant collection areas.
The Association of Art Museum Directors
2008 Guidelines on the Acquisition of Archaeological Material and
Ancient Art
- Recognize the 1970 UNESCO Convention and adopt this as a
‘threshold date’
- Establish an object registry for the publication of information on new
acquisitions with incomplete modern provenanceAs many as 112,000 ancient Greek &
Roman objects are held in private collections within
the U.S. alone.
Principal stakeholders include
Source Nations, Museums, Archaeologists, Private
Collectors
School of Library &
Information Science
The AAMD guidelines allow museums to
exercise discretion and to weigh the potential for financial
and reputational harm against the benefits of acquiring objects
with incomplete modern provenance.
One potential consequence of excessively
strict policies is the negative effect it might have upon
private collectors and subsequently upon the legitimate
antiquities market and museum collections.
HeadofDrususMinor,Roman,1st
century
ClevelandMuseumofArt
Museum Acquisition Policies Regarding Archaeological Materials
& Ancient Art
Brad Ferrier
The issues of restitution and repatriation must be
addressed in a meaningful way through the establishment of
specific policy statements which apply to all objects within a
museum’s collection.The AAMD should encourage and facilitate the
lending
of objects between museums as an alternative to acquiring
objects with insufficient documented provenance.
Conclusio
ns: